Caught in Her Wake
by Enis
Summary: What starts as a simple friendship, heads in a direction neither of them would have expected.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Hey hey everyone. Been a little while since I've put anything up, so here we go, something new. Shooting for something much longer than I've ever done before, and I can promise that updates will be relatively frequent. I'd like to thank my super fantastic beta for all of her invaluable help. This fic wouldn't even exist if wasn't for her suggestion to expand on my favorite pair. Hope you all enjoy!

Chapter 1: The Beginning

"Kagura... Kagura it's time to wake up."

"Five more minutes," Kagura groaned, as she pulled her pillow over her head.

"C'mon kid, time to get up'."

Again, Kagura groaned in reply, rolling as far away from the pestering voice as she could. All she wanted was a few more minutes of sleep.

"Alright," the voice said with a heavy sigh. "Looks like we're doin' this the hard way."

Kagura was once again about groan back, when she felt her covers forcefully yanked off of her. Before she could yelp in protest, her world was turned upside down as her mattress flipped out from underneath we her. With a heavy thud, she hit the ground. "What the hell dad!" she cried out while crawling out from under her mattress.

Kagura's father looked down at her, a large triumphant smile spreading across his face. "Ain't no daughter of mine gonna be late for her first day of school. Now get movin'! I'll have breakfast ready for you by the time you get downstairs."

Without reply, Kagura dragged herself off the ground and began to groggily stumble around her room as she started to get ready for the day. If there was one thing she hated, it was getting up early in the morning. _Why couldn't the break be just a little longer,_ she thought to herself.

Walking over to her door, she stared at the uniform that was hanging from the back. A small smile began to tug at the corners of her mouth. Today was a big day; her first day of high school. Even though school was never her strong suit, she loved sports, and she was more than excited to see what clubs she could join.

After quickly throwing on her uniform, Kagura made her way down stairs towards the smell of breakfast, where her father was placing several plates full of food on the table. Kagura plopped herself down at the table and quickly began inhaling her food.

"Whoa there. You wanna slow down a bit, and wait for you old man take his seat too?" Kagura's father asked with light chuckle.

Kagura looked up, her mouth full of food, and took a big swallow. "My bad," she said, and instantly resumed consuming her meal with a vengeance.

Rolling his eyes, her father began working at his breakfast as well. "I'm gonna laugh when you choke," he said mockingly, earning humorless glare from his daughter. "Anyways, are you excited? New school, new people, new clubs. Are you gonna go for track and field again, or are you goin' for somethin' new. Oh! Oh! What about Judo or Kendo?" he asked excitedly, nearly bouncing in his seat.

After shoving the last bit of food into her mouth, Kagura gave her father a wide grin. "I dunno yet. I really like track, but I'll look into Judo and Kendo for sure."

"Haha! That's my girl," he said while excitedly pumping a fist into the air. "Lookin' forward to hearin' all about it. Now, you gotta get goin'. Don't wanna be late."

"Alright, alright, I'm going. Geez."

Getting up from the table, Kagura grabbed her book bag and made her way for the door, but was stopped by hand on her shoulder. She turned around to see her father smiling at her. Without a word, he began straightening her uniform, tugging on corners, and working the collar. Kagura fidgeted under the scrutiny. Once satisfied with his work, he ruffled her short, shaggy hair. A small tear started to work it's a way out of the corner of his eye.

"C'mon dad, don't get all mushy on me," Kagura whined.

With a shake of his head, and a quick wipe of the eye, he straightened his posture and tried to look as stoic as possible. "Hey I can't help it. My little girl is growin' up."

Kagura couldn't help but smile. "Love ya pops. I'll tell you all about it when I get home."

Waving goodbye, she took off out the door at a brisk pace. It was a nice and sunny morning, a light breeze hitting her face. Kagura clasped her hands behind her head, her bag hanging from her fingers, and watched the crowds of people walking along the sidewalk. Soon there were more and more students in uniform filling the walkway, and before she knew it, Kagura found herself standing before the main gate of the school. She stopped for a moment, taking in the sight before her, and couldn't help but notice the feeling of butterflies which had invaded her stomach. She didn't know anyone at this school, and the idea of having to make new friends, and meet new teachers was slightly unnerving.

A loud screech, followed by an outburst of profanity, yanked Kagura from her thoughts. Over to her left she saw a girl with short black hair clinging to the back of a taller bespectacled girl. The shorter one was shouting 'giddy up' while jamming a heal into the other girl's thigh. In an instant, the taller girl dropped her tormenter on the ground and quickly walked away, her face a dark shade of red. Kagura couldn't help but laugh to herself. 'Looks like this place might be kinda fun,' she thought as she made her way into the school.

It wasn't long before she found herself entering class room five. Taking a seat, she began eyeing the rest of the class, wondering which ones would be fun enough to hang out with. A few of the other students looked like good potential for friends, and before Kagura could go and introduce herself, the bell rang. An instant later the classroom door slid open, and Kagura couldn't help but give a wide smile.

There were a lot of images Kagura had of what her new teachers would be like, but the person who entered the door completely changed her previous perspectives. In came a woman in her mid twenties, with short black hair and a pair of long bangs in the front. Her posture was crisp, and she was clearly physically fit, giving her a tomboyish masculine edge. Combined with the simple outfit of a pair of light blue slacks and a matching sports jacket, Kagura couldn't help but admire the woman's confidence. When the teacher regarded the class with a warm welcoming smile, Kagura felt her own smile broaden.

"Good morning class! My name is Minamo Kurosawa, and I will be your homeroom teacher," she said merrily.

A low murmur rolled through the class, as many of the students exchanged hushed comments with one another. Most of the students seemed pleased with the first impression of their new teacher. When one of the boys in front of her made a comment to his friend on how lucky they were to have scored a cute young teacher, Kagura couldn't help but laugh to herself and shake her head.

Taking her place behind the podium, and neatly stacking several papers, Kurosawa cleared her throat, effectively silencing the class. "Now I know some of you might be nervous since this is your first year of high school, but I want to start by saying you shouldn't be! I'll do my very best to make your time here as fun as possible, and don't ever hesitate to come to me for help." She took a small pause, letting her statement soak in with her class, and gave them a wide smile. Noting that several of the nervous stares were going away, she continued on. "Why don't we go around and introduce ourselves. Tell everyone your name and at least one hobby. I'd like to get to know you all as best I can."

One by one, the class began to introduce themselves. Kagura wasn't sure why, but she felt instantly drawn to the woman standing before the class. Everything from her style of clothing, and haircut, to the aura of warmth and kindness, was captivating. And when she began asking the other students questions, Kagura became lost in thought. She began racking her brain, trying to come up with something interesting to say. The last thing she wanted to do was look like an idiot in front of this woman, and she felt a strong need to try and impress her. 'Well, I like sports, but I gotta give more than that...'

A jab in her side with a pencil startled Kagura, making her jump in her seat. "Hey, you're up," said the boy sitting behind her.

Kagura looked around and saw that all eyes were on her. She quickly stood up, a sheepish look on her face, and said, "I'm Kagura, and, uh...I like sports!" Not quite knowing what else to say, she added a thumbs up and a cheesy smile to her statement, earning several giggles from the class. Trying hard not to wince at how lame she thought her answer was, Kagura stared at Kurosawa, praying she wouldn't think her a fool.

A large smile made its way across Kurosawa's face, and she too laughed lightly. "It's great to meet you Kagura, and what sports do you like?"

With a nervous chuckle, Kagura scratched the back of her neck. She hadn't thought of what to say for a follow up question. "Um..." _C'mon, think, think, think._ "Um, well, I was on the track and field team at my old school. I really liked that, and, uh, oh! I like soccer too!"

Kurosawa raised an eyebrow, her interest clearly piqued, and leaned forward onto her podium. "A soccer fan? How exciting. Who do you think's going to take the Emperor's cup this year?"

"F. C. Tokyo, of course," Kagura said matter of fact, her earlier nervousness now completely gone.

"That's right they are! Are you excited for the next game? I hear they'll be given a run for their money," Kurosawa replied excitedly.

"Nah, they've totally got this," Kagura said, waving a dismissive hand. "But I'm sure it'll be intense. I'm super stoked. My mom and pops are gonna have big party for it and everything."

Kurosawa regarded Kagura with a warm smile. "Well that sounds great. It's always nice to meet another sports fan," she began and then turned her attention to the rest of the class. "And speaking of sports, not only will I be your homeroom teacher, but I'm also the girls gym teacher, and the coach of the swim team, so I look forward to having fun out on the field with you, and hopefully in the pool, should some of you be interested in the swim team."

As the rest of the class continued on with their introductions, Kagura instead found herself focusing on her new homeroom teacher. This woman was Kagura's very definition of cool. It had only been a mater of minutes and there were already so many ways in which she thought they could relate. She was excited to meet another person she could talk to and identify with, someone who truly shared the same passion for the things she enjoyed most.

A wide smile made its across Kagura's face. _Man she's awesome! And she'll be my gym teacher too? Freakin' score._

* * *

><p>Kagura burst through the front door, quickly flinging her shoes off at the small shoe rack and dropping her bag by the door. "I'm home!" she yelled out.<p>

To say that she was excited would be an understatement. Not only was she excited to be home, but her first day of school had been far better than she could have expected it to be. The school itself had a welcoming feeling to it, and she had easily fit in with the students in her class. Her teachers had also been a plus for the day. While some of them had been a little on the eccentric side, her English and classics teachers being good examples, Kagura felt like she had lucked out with the teachers she'd been given for her first year.

As she made her way into the kitchen, she found both her parents nursing cups of coffee. Kagura could easily tell her parents were tired, especially her mother, as she leaned against the kitchen counter, staring blankly at the floor. Her father was dressed in a clean pressed Tokyo police department uniform, and her mother in an equally pressed business suit. With the dramatic entrance of their daughter, their exhausted demeanor quickly changed as they turned to her with large smiles, quickly picking up on her excitement.

Setting down her coffee, Kagura's mother gave her tight hug. "Looks like you had a good first day. How was it?" she asked excitedly.

"Yea! It went way better than I thought it would," Kagura replied.

With a glance at his watch, Kagura's father let out a heavy sigh and quickly downed the rest of his coffee. "Ugh, I gotta take off to work. Man these night shifts are killin' me," he groaned. He walked over and gave his wife a quick kiss and pat on the butt, then turned to Kagura and ruffled her hair. "Tell me all about it in the mornin', ok? I'll make breakfast again for ya," he said while grabbing his coat and lunch box.

"Got it pops. Will do," Kagura said, giving her father a big hug.

"Have a safe shift, honey," Kagura's mother called out as he went to the door.

With a cheesy grin, he pointed to the three chevrons on the sleeve of his shirt. "Sergeant safety, right here," he said, and flexed his arm for extra emphasis.

Kagura's mother just shook her head, trying not to laugh, and looked to Kagura with an expectant smile. "Hey, wanna have some ice cream with me, and tell me about your day? I grabbed a tub of Moose tracks for you on my home today."

"My favorite!" Kagura cheered.

Within a matter of moments, the two were seated at the table, each with a large bowl of ice cream before them. "So," Kagura's mother began, after taking several large bites from her bowl, "how'd it go?"

"It was actually pretty cool," Kagura replied.

"Oh really?" her mother asked, surprised at hearing her daughter refer to school as something cool. "Well, tell me more. Did you make any friends.

"Uh huh. There's some pretty cool people in my class."

A devious smile made its way onto her mother's face. "Are any of them cute boys?" she asked.

Kagura nearly choked on her ice cream. "Awe, mom!" she whined, looking away sheepishly.

"Well, you _are_ in high school now! I just thought that maybe at least one had caught your eye." She put her hands up in mock surrender after receiving an angry glare from Kagura. "My bad, I can't help myself. You have to get over this whole, 'boys have cooties' thing eventually. No need to choke over it," her mother said teasingly, and waving a dismissive hand.

"It's not that," Kagura protested. "I don't know, I just, haven't ever seen any that seem all that great."

"Well, I'm always here for you if you ever want to talk about boys, or need any advice. I'm sure your dad would be totally thrilled to hel-"

"Mom!" Kagura interrupted. "Can we change the subject, please?"

"Alright, alright," her mother relented, laughing at Kagura's embarrassment. "So, what about the sports programs. How are those?" she asked.

"That's the best part," Kagura began excitedly, nearly bouncing in her seat. "I joined the swim team!"

Her mother raised an eyebrow in curiosity. The past few years Kagura had been into track and field, and had done very well with it. A sudden change to something so different caught her by surprise. "Wow, that's different. What made you decide on that over track and field?"

A moment of silence passed as Kagura considered her answer. Looking back, she hadn't put that much thought behind her decision. When Ms. Kurosawa had asked her if she was interested in the swim team, saying yes seemed like the most natural thing to do. "Well, the coach for the team is totally rad, right? She's super nice, and super fun. So she's my homeroom teacher, my gym teacher, AND my new coach!"

"Well that's exciting."

"I know! It also seems like it could be pretty fun too."

"I'm sure you'll be great at it," Kagura's mother said with a wide grin.

* * *

><p>A short burst from a whistle echoed throughout the pool grounds, followed a second later by the splashes of swimmers hitting the water. Minamo Kurosawa walked the length of the pool watching each swimmer intently. She checked her stop watch, happy with the times she was already seeing, and made her way towards the starting point. The rest of the swim team was lined up, each lane having another student with a stop watch, and Kurosawa couldn't help but smile at how serious they were. One lane in particular caught her attention, it's current occupant taking a significant lead on the rest of the group. Even though she already knew who it was, she still walked over to take a closer look.<p>

The girl crouched by the edge of the pool looked up, an expression of excitement on her face. "Looks like she's gonna to beat her record, coach."

"That's great," Minamo said with a large smile.

Since day one, Minamo had been impressed with Kagura's skill, and had been extremely surprised to hear that the girl had never competitively swam before. She could easily see the hallmarks of great athlete and competitor, and for the past month had greatly enjoyed being a part of Kagura's progress. As Kagura made her way through her final lap, Minamo watched intently and marveled how graceful she was.

A moment later, and Kagra slapped a hand on the edge of the pool, puffing for air. With a large smile, her fellow team mate simply held her stop watch in front of Kagura's face. Kagura stared at the small watch, shook her head free of water, and did a wide eyed double take. "Wahoo!" she exclaimed, pumping a fist into the air excitedly. "Awe man that's awesome! You see that, coach? I just totally destroyed my record time!"

Minamo couldn't help but laugh at how excited Kagura was. She couldn't blame the girl either; she knew the feeling of making a new time all to well. "Great work Kagura, your form is really coming along. You've obviously made a lot of improvements."

Kagura's face lit up at receiving the compliment. "I've got you to thank for it coach. I did exactly as you said this time. I lengthened my strokes, and went for a harder kick off on my turn arounds."

A feeling of pride and joy radiated through Minamo. She truly enjoyed watching her students improve, and knowing that her advice had been applied to that success was one thing she considered to be the best part about being a coach. Of all the new athletes she had gained this year, she felt that she had really lucked out with Kagura, and knelt down to give her a congratulatory high five. The girl was always eager to try out new methods, and soaked up any tips or tricks Minamo gave her like a sponge. It was another one of her favorite qualities of Kagura's.

Noticing that the rest of the team had finished their laps, and that thankfully most seemed happy with their times, Minamo blew her whistle twice and motioned for everyone to gather around. Within a few moments, the team was standing around her, devoting their full attention. "Great work today everyone. I'm seeing a lot of progress all across the board. Keep it up!" she began, earning several cheers from the group. "And that'll do it for today. Next practice, lets see if we can beet the times we just made."

After a series of acknowledgements and goodbyes, the group quickly dispersed and made their way towards the locker rooms. Gathering up her things, Minamo began her journey towards the lockers at a leisurely pace and smiled when another person fell in step beside her.

"Hey coach!" Kagura said boisterously, and before Minamo could return the greeting, she quickly continued on. "So you saw how I did today. Is there any way I could go even faster?" she asked.

Again, laughing at how excited Kagura was, Minamo began picking apart her performance for the day. She went over what needed improvement, as well as what was being done well, and she was once again amazed at how well Kagura took it all in. Constructive criticism wasn't always easy to hear, but Kagura took it in stride. She happily asked questions and was excited to try new techniques, and Minamo was more than happy to work with her.

For the past few weeks, Kagura had come up after every practice and asked for improvements. What had originally started out as quick reviews, had now turned into something much more. Their conversations ranged from anything and everything that went on throughout the day, to the most recent sports scores and news. Normally it was Kagura carrying on the conversations, with Minamo asking occasional questions and throwing in a comment here and there. Recently, however, Minamo found herself being able to talk about her days as well, and was pleased at how intently Kagrua would listen and ask questions. It didn't take long for Minamo to realize that not only had she gained a great athlete, she had also stumbled across someone who was quickly becoming a good friend.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Rumors

Minamo clapped excitedly along with the rest of the crowd. Standing before her, were the winners of the last race of the day, and two out of the three were from her group. With an immense feeling of pride, she made her way up to the group to congratulate them. One girl in particular noticed her first, and bolted over to her.

"Congratulations, Kagura. Your very first gold medal!" Minamo exclaimed excitedly, reaching out to give the girl a high five. As much as she tried to maintain an aura of calm collectedness, especially in front of her students, she found it hard to resist her growing excitement.

"Can't believe I did it. I totally won!" Kagura cheered, as she held up a gold medal to emphasize her point.

Placing a hand on Kagura's shoulder, Minamo gave it a light squeeze. "You made us all very proud. You too, Kusakabe, great job," she added, as the other team mate passed by, also receiving a high five from Minamo. Kagura's face lit up with pure joy at receiving the praise, and Minamo found it hard not give a wide smile in return.

"Hey hey! There's my girl!" came a loud voice from behind Minamo.

"Dad! Mom!" Kagura yelled, running over to greet her parents.

Minamo turned to watch as Kagura excitedly showed her parents her gold medal, and began animatedly describing her victory of the day. Kagura had mentioned her parents several times during past conversations, describing them as very nice, and fun people. When Minamo had heard her father was a police officer, and her mother an attorney for a large law firm, she had imagined them to be a strict, and rigid pair. Add in Kagura's drive for competition, and it would have been easy to believe that her parents constantly pushed their daughter to win, no matter the cost. She'd seen it with numerous other students in the past.

At a first glance, they could be seen as intimidating. Kagura's father was a man of average hight, but the short military style haircut, collared shirt and slacks, straight posture, and a bulky musculature, gave off the impression that he expected people to take him seriously and respect his authority. The mother was as equally intimidating. She too had perfectly straight posture, arms crossed across her chest, perfectly pressed black business suit and high heels, long hair neatly pulled back into a high ponytail, and an expression of unreadable seriousness. The two were clearly professionals, Kagura's mother looking as if she had just come from work, and Minamo couldn't help but wonder if Kagura had been embellishing her parent's niceties.

All of those assumptions were shattered when Minamo actually saw them with Kagura. Her father turned into what Minamo could only describe as big goofy idiot, bouncing around in excitement in the same fashion as Kagura, fist pumping and all. Kagura's mother wasn't much different, laughing along with her family, a large smile plastered on her face. What caught Minamo's attention the most, however, wasn't the silly antics between Kagura and her father, it was Kagura's mother. Minamo was amazed at just how striking the woman was. An aura of confidence radiated from her, further enhanced by an elegant beauty and gracefulness. Even more surprising to Minamo, was just how much Kagura resembled her mother. 'Wow, they really look alike.' She was pulled from her thoughts when she noticed that the small group was now focused on her.

"Coach! Hey coach, come meet my parents," Kagura said, waving frantically.

As Minamo approached the group, she was first greeted by Kagura's father. "So you must be the famous coach Kurosawa we keep hearin' about," he said with a wide grin.

"Our daughter talks about you constantly," Kagura's mother added. She then put her hands up, making air quotes, and said in a voice similar to her daughter's, "Coach this, Ms. Kurosawa that, you won't believe what coach had us do today, I wanna be cool like coach." She laughed when Kagura crossed her arms and glared at her, clearly not happy about being mocked by her mother. "Well, it's nice to be able to put a face to the name, and we're thrilled to see that Kagura has someone who clearly inspires her to do her best." With a small bow, she smiled at Minamo.

Even though she was sure the woman was exaggerating at Kagura's expense, Minamo was surprised to hear about how much Kagura spoke of her. The thought made her feel warm inside. Returning the bow, she said, "It's my pleasure to have her as a part of the team. She's a great athlete, and to be quite honest, she makes my job easy. I wish we had more like her, and it's great to finally meet you, Mr. and Mrs. -"

"No, no, none of that Mr. and Mrs. stuff," Kagura's father began, cutting Minamo off. "Makes us feel way too old, and we're not the formal types either. The name's Hisao, and this is my better half, Emi."

Thrown off for a moment by the sudden informality, Minamo quickly rallied and put on her usual warm smile. "Well it's great to finally meet you," she said happily, again with a bow.

Hisao returned the smile and bow, then turned to Kagura. "Alright kid, you ready to celebrate kickin' some ass with a victory meal? Where ever you wanna go," he said.

"Woohoo! I'm starving!" Kagura cheered.

After exchanging farewells, Minamo watched as Kagura and her parents took their leave. She had a broad smile on her face. 'Such a nice family. She's a lucky girl.'

XxXxXxX

The hallway back to the locker room was crowded, more so than usual. Laughter, giggles, and shouts of excited girls echoed off the walls. Kagura could feel the excitement in the air as various groups animatedly discussed the same topic. It was difficult to catch individual conversations, but she was able to pick out bits and pieces here and there.

"Oh my god. Did you see that ten year old with the kick board? So cute!"

"Can't believe we almost lost because of that slow chick from Osaka."

"Ugh. Why was Kimura at the pool today?"

"That belly flop Yukari did was pretty intense."

Kagura laughed to herself at hearing that last comment. She felt mildly cruel for finding it funny, especially when so many other students had seemed to feel bad for poor Yukari. But the very fact that the crazy woman had been so adamant about how she was going to beat Kurosawa in a race, made Kagura feel that Yukari got what she deserved. It wasn't that she disliked her English teacher, she actually thought Yukari was really funny, and although she could be abusive, both verbally and physically, class was always entertaining in some way shape or form. It was one thing to be confident in your skills and to be able to back up a challenge. It was another thing entirely to be egotistical and rub it in everyone's faces, especially when you weren't able to back up the claims. Again, she lightly chuckled to herself. 'Yea, she definitely had that one comin'.'

Her train of thought was shattered as she was assaulted by the sounds of yelling and profanity. Rounding the corner, she was forced to jump back, almost being knocked over by a girl running through the locker room, cackling wildly, a bra clutched in her hand. A taller girl was fast on her tail, one arm covering her chest, the other frantically grabbing at her tormentor. When the distance closed, she reached out with both arms, apparently angry enough to forget about her exposed chest, and secured an arm around the smaller girl's neck, squeezing as hard as she could.

The bra dropped to floor, but the girl in the choke hold continued to laugh hysterically. "I...can...feel...your...boobs...on...my...neck," she choked out between gasps of air.

Realizing the position she was in, the taller girl instantly released her grip, her face a bright crimson. Without a word, she snatched her bra from the ground, spun on her heel, and marched away. Her tormentor smiled maniacally and followed a short distance behind, skipping merrily.

"I saw Yomi's boo~bies! I saw Yomi's boo~bies!" she sang.

"Shut up, Tomo!" the other girl shrieked, her voice cracking with rage.

Kagura again found herself laughing. 'Man, these chicks from class three are crazy,' she thought. She remembered those two from earlier. What had started as a fat joke, had quickly turned into a wrestling match. It then stood out to her, that none of the other girls around seemed to pay any attention to the squabbling duo. Same as before, their group of friends seemed to go about their business, as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

Curiosity piqued, Kagura made her way over to one of the girls who she'd figured to be acquainted with the odd pair. Leaning over, she nudged the girl lightly with her elbow. "Hey, what's the deal with those two?"

"Geah!" the girl shrieked with a start. When she turned and looked up at Kagura, her eyes widened, and her cheeks turning a light shade of pink.

"Whoa, my bad. Didn't mean to startle ya there," Kagura said, putting her hands up in a show of mock surrender.

"Oh! Uh, n-no worries. Sorry, you just kinda surprised me that's all," she stuttered in reply.

There was an awkward silence that passed by as Kagura watched the other girl with a confused look. She was fidgeting nervously, and when their eyes met, her face turned an even deeper shade of red. A second later and she averted her gaze.

"So, um, what was it you were asking?" she asked bashfully.

"Yea, so what's up with those two? Are they crazy or somethin'?" Kagura asked, jerking a thumb over her shoulder.

Following the direction Kagura was pointing to, Chihiro spotted two girls getting dressed, apparently having a perfectly normal conversation. She then laughed lightly. "Ah, that's Tomo and Yomi, they're always like that. One minute they're fighting, the next minute they're best friends. I don't get it either, but that's just how they've always been. "

"Huh, alright then," Kagura said, not exactly satisfied with the answer she was given. Then again, she wasn't exactly sure what kind of answer she had been looking for, but there just seemed to be more to those two that she just couldn't quite put her finger on. With a shrug, she turned her attention back to the girl in front of her.

"Well, hey, my name's Kagura," she said.

"Chi-Chihiro Inoue. Nice to meet you," she said with a deep bow.

"Yea, nice to meet you too," Kagura replied with a wide smile.

With a final wave farewell, she headed off deeper into the locker room. 'Wonder what she was so worked up about?' she thought, as she opened up her locker.

Before she could finish getting dressed, she couldn't help but over hear several girls from her class talking rather loudly amongst themselves. Not that Kagura was big on eavesdropping, but with how close and how loud they were, it was difficult not to listen in.

"So did you guys see that Aida girl from class three ogling that super tall, quiet girl?"

"Yea, she was practically drooling in the pool!"

"Well I heard from a friend in their class, that she was eye humpin' the poor girl the entire time she was gettin' dressed."

"Oh, eeww! That's so gross."

"So what, she's like a raging dyke or something?"

"Duh."

Kagura frowned, and looked away. She hadn't the slightest idea of who these girls were talking about, but she hated listening to people gossip behind others backs. Thinking back, she remembered a fairly tall girl who seemed pretty quiet, but couldn't for the life of her recall anyone staring at her in an uncomfortable manor. She decided to try her best to tune out the conversation while the group continued to make lewd comments about the poor girl.

"Speaking of dykes, I heard from a third year that Kurosawa is a total lesbo too."

That last comment instantly pulled Kagura back into their conversation. Now they were talking about someone she knew and cared about.

"No way!"

"Oh come on, it's totally obvious. Look at how she dresses, look at her hair, AND she's a PE teacher. She may as well be wearin' sign."

"Ew Ew Ew, she prolly secretly watches us getting dressed."

"Ugh, someone like THAT shouldn't be allowed to teach or coach."

"She's like the female version of Kimura!"

That was it. Kagura had enough. It was one thing for them to be bashing some girl she didn't know, but this was Kurosawa, someone she looked up too, someone she considered to be a friend. She felt obligated to defend her mentor, and bolted up from her seat.

"Hey! Kurosawa is an awesome teacher and coach. She's nothing like Kimura, and you know it. You should quit talkin' crap behind people's backs," Kagura spat out angrily, her fists clenched at her sides. Normally a very happy go lucky person, she was surprised with herself at just how livid she was getting.

The group turned and stared at Kagura through narrowed eyes. One girl forcefully put her hands on her hips, and scoffed.

"Figures YOU'D be the one to get your panties in a wad," she said venomously. "I see how it is. You gotta defend your own kind."

"Wha-"

Before Kagura could say anymore, the girl made a V with her fingers, put it to her mouth, and stuck her tongue out between them. The rest of the girls began laughing and pointing at Kagura, calling out several derogatory names.

As angry as she was, Kagura now found herself equally confused. The shear unexpected cruelty had caught her completely off guard. She had no rebuke, finding that all she could manage was to stand there, her mouth agape. The girls continued to laugh as they gathered their things, and left. Silently, Kagura finished getting dressed and grabbed her belongings.

'What was their problem? Why were they so mean?'

Throughout the the day, Kagura kept replaying the incident over and over in her head. She had wanted to give them a piece of her mind, tell them they could shove their snarky comments where the sun didn't shine, but she had frozen instead. Now that the confrontation was long past, all the witty come backs were flowing to her. It only served to further fuel her frustration.

What bothered her even more, were the horrible comments they'd made about Kurosawa. Of all the instructors at the school, she was likely one of the most popular. She was respectful, kind, caring, and extremely approachable. This had been the first time Kagura had ever heard anyone speak poorly of the woman.

'What should it matter if she's gay or not. She's a great person!'

As the end of the school day came up, and Kagura found herself back at the pool for swim practice, she still hadn't been able to get over her frustration. She now found herself watching Kurosawa intently, not because of the instructions she was giving, but she was now mildly curious if the early accusation had any merit to it. Sure, there was an obvious masculine quality to Kurosawa, with the hair style and choice of clothing, but that all seemed to fit with the whole sports enthusiast and coach look. There was no wedding band, so she clearly wasn't married, and looking back at past conversations, Kagura couldn't recall once ever hearing about a boyfriend.

In the grand scheme of things, the preferences of her coach meant very little to her. Kagura respected the woman greatly, and the fact that a few terrible comments, made by some girls she barely knew, caused her consider such things, created a horrible feeling of guilt that washed over her. Before she knew it, practice was over. As the rest of the team filed out of the pool yard, Kagura stayed back and waited for Kurosawa as she usually did.

"Hey coach," Kagura greeted, a little less enthusiastic than normal.

"Hello Kagura," Minamo replied cheerfully. "How was your day?"

"Um, alright, I guess. How's yours?"

There was a small moment of silence as Minamo regarded Kagura with a curious look. Normally Kagura would energetically go on and on about the details of her day, but to see her so suddenly down, was a cause for concern.

"Hey, what's going on with you? Is everything ok?"

"Yea...well..." Kagura let out a heavy sigh. "It's just that some girls said some really mean things earlier, and its been buggin' me all day."

Placing a hand on Kagura's back, Minamo looked at her and tried her best to put on a reassuring smile. She knew all to well just how cruel girls could be towards to each other. " Do you want to talk about it? Might make you feel a little better."

"Well," Kagura began, taking a moment compose her thoughts. "First they were makin' fun of some girl from class three. Not to her face or anything, just talkin' crap behind her back. I tried to ignore them, but they kept making really bad comments about her bein' gay and stuff. But that's not the worst part!" Kagura paused for a moment to catch her breath before she continued on. "What really pissed me off, was when when they started bashin' YOU."

"Me?" Minamo replied, jerking back slightly in surprise.

"Yea! They were all talkin' 'bout how you were gay, and how you were a pervert and watched us get dressed, and how you shouldn't be allowed to coach or teach."

Minamo was surprised at how worked up Kagura was getting. The short, concise hand gestures, the angry scowl, she'd never seen this side of her before. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she found the spectacle slightly amusing. Unsure of what to say, she chose to remain silent, and let the girl continue to vent.

"So I told 'em they should stop talkin' smack behind people's backs, and then they started callin' ME names! I mean, what the hell is their problem?"

"Being called bad names can be pretty rough," Minamo added.

"That's not it, though!" Kagura was having a hard time controlling her anger now. She was thankful no one else was around to see her this upset. "You're a super awesome teacher and coach. Everyone loves you, and you're totally NOT a perv."

By now, Minamo couldn't hold back any more. Kagura was getting so worked up over her, she felt she needed to lighten the mood a little. "At least not a perv that you know of," she said with a chuckle and a joking smile. When the look on Kagura's face contorted into one of confusion, Minamo laughed even harder.

"Wha- Hey, what's so funny?" Kagura whined.

"I'm joking with you, Kagura. Look, they were just a few girls being typical gossipy teenagers. You can't let that kind of stuff get to you," she said, earning a nod from Kagura.

Just like that, Kagura had been put at ease. It never ceased to amaze her just how well Minamo was always able to say the right things at the right time. Kagura looked down sheepishly, suddenly embarrassed for how upset she'd become.

"I know, I know, but I just don't get it. Why should any of that kinda stuff matter. I mean, I wouldn't care if you were like that at all. I don't see what the big deal is."

When she looked back up at Minamo, she found herself the subject of a wide eyed stare. It suddenly dawned on her on how her statement must have sounded.

"Wait, that came out wrong. I wasn't sayin' that you were-" Kagura began to stutter out.

Minamo began to laugh nervously, scratching the back of her neck. "No, no, no, I get it," she hastily replied, her face turning bright red.

"What I meant to say was-"

"Don't worry, don't worry-"

"Um-"

"Kagura, it really is ok." Minamo looked away and took a deep breath. When she looked back to Kagura, a genuine smile was on her face. "Thanks."

"Thanks? For Wha-"

"Oi! Nyamo!" Came a loud shout, causing Minamo and Kagura to jump. Seemingly out of nowhere, Yukari stormed up to them, staring at Minamo expectantly. "The hell are you doin' standin' around here? Get yer shit, those beers won't drink themselves!" An awkward moment of silence overtook the group, as both Minamo and Kagura stared at Yukari. The English teacher frantically looked between the two. "Well?" she exclaimed. "Starin' at me ain't gonna make a beer magically appear in my hand. Lets go! Lets go!"

"Alright, alright, no need to make a scene," Minamo relented. "Just give me a sec to finish locking up." Yukari forcefully placed her hands on her hips and began tapping a foot. Rolling her eyes, Minamo turned away from her impatient friend, and looked to Kagura. "Great practice as always. I'll see you in class tomorrow, ok?."

"Sounds good coach. Have a good one," Kagura replied with a wave goodbye.

Making her way towards the girls locker room, Kagura stopped and took one last look at Minamo, watching as she and Yukari headed off in the opposite direction towards the faculty lockers, arguing as usual. 'Why did coach thank me back there. I didn't do anything except make a total dork of myself for saying I wouldn't care if she was...' Kagura's eyes widened. 'Hold on a sec. Was she sayin that she's..."

XxXxXxX

"You can stop laughing now."

"Oh man." Yukari wiped a tear from her eye, still chuckling to herself. "I wish I coulda seen the look on your face for that conversation."

"You DID. You totally interrupt it, you know," Minamo replied in a deadpan tone.

"I didn't know I was interruptin' somethin' like that." Yukari took a long swig of her beer and set the glass down with a heavy thud. "I'da paid way more attention."

"Well good thing you didn't."

"You know," Yukari began, fixing Minamo with a rare serious look. "Life would be a lot easier for ya if you just came out with it."

With a heavy sigh, Minamo pinched the bridge of her nose. She should have known this would come up. It was a subject Yukari loved to pester her about, and usually in a surprisingly serious manner as well. Not that Minamo usually minded, it wasn't often Yukari showed her more caring side, and since she was the only person Minamo had shared her secret with, it was nice to able to have someone to talk about it with.

Crossing her arms over her chest, Minamo furrowed her brow. "I'm not ready yet," she said. She knew that answer would drive her friend crazy. It was the same answer she always gave. And in all honesty, it was the truth.

Yukari threw her hands up in the air dramatically. "That's what you always say!" she exclaimed. "Why the hell not?"

"I-I don't know. It's just, I'm worried about what people will think. What will work think? What about my students?"

"Who cares! The people who really care about ya won't care, and those are the ones that matter."

"Have you even MET my mother?" Minamo said dryly.

Yukari made face as if she'd just bitten into a lemon. "Ok, so your mom would flip her shit. But hey, maybe a heart attack would do her some good?"

Minamo glared at Yukari. She knew just how much her mother hated her best friend, and Yukari was all the more happy to return the sentiments. Her mother was a traditional woman to the extreme. If she were to find out her only child would likely never marry and give her grandchildren, she'd likely disown her. Still, it stung when Yukari would joke about her mother's untimely demise, something she did quite frequently.

A large grin came across Yukari's face as she jabbed a thumb into her own chest. "What matters most is that I ain't gotta problem with it. You know work can't fire ya for somethin' like that, and like I always say, who gives a crap what a bunch of prissy teenagers think."

Picking up her glass, Yukari pounded the last of her beer, and Minamo joined her. Admitting that Yukari had a point was hard. There was no way she'd ever mention she agreed with her, she'd never hear the end of it. But deep down she knew that, for the most part, those who were close to her would lend their support. She had even told Kagura earlier that day not worry about what other people say. 'I should listen to my own advice.'

The sight of Kagura adamantly defending her crossed her mind. A small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. 'She was so upset about the nasty things they said about me. She didn't even seem to care that those girls had made fun of her too.'

"Alright, what's that stupid look on your face for?"

"Huh?"

"What're you grinnin' about?"

"Oh, I was just thinking about what Kagura said earlier. It was really sweet."

"See! I friggin' told ya no one would care," Yukari exclaimed. She held up an empty beer bottle, and motioned to the waiter to bring two more.

"We've got work tomorrow. Shouldn't you take it easy on the drinks?"

"Bah," Yukari scoffed, and waved a dismissive hand. "All the more reason to keep drinkin'," she said, receiving a roll of the eyes from Minamo. A moment later, the waiter appeared and placed two large bottles on the table. Yukari refilled her cup, topped off Minamo's, and donned a devious grin. "That Kagura girl seems like a good kid. Should keep an eye on that one."

"Why?" Minamo asked cautiously. She knew that trouble causing grin when she saw it.

"Bet ya a fancy dinner that girl's got the hots for ya," Yukari said confidently.

"What?" Minamo shrieked, causing several nearby tables to look in their direction. "Why would you say something like that?" she asked in a hushed tone.

"Oh come on. You blind or somethin'? You haven't noticed how googley eyed she gets around you? She wants you. Bad."

"No she doesn't," Minamo protested, and fixed Yukari with a stern glare. "She just looks up to me, that's all. Kinda like a mentor."

Yukari snorted, trying to contain her laughter. "Yea I'll bet she wants you to mentor her, alright," she said mockingly, waggling her eye brows.

"Dammit Yukari, what is wrong with you? It's not like that." Minamo was having a hard time keeping her voice down. The last thing she wanted to do was draw attention to such an embarrassing subject, but her patience was being pushed to its limits. As far as she could tell, there was nothing to suggest Kagura had ever expressed any sort of romantic interest in her. They were simply friends. 'Why does she always have to screw with me?'

"Sucks for you then. She's totally your type," Yukari said matter of fact, her grin widening. "She's cute to- Ow! What the shit? What'd ya kick me for?" Yukari whined, rubbing her shin vigorously.

Minamo stared at her through narrowed eyes. She took a drawn out sip of her drink. "We're just friends, and that's IT. Besides, she's too young, and a student, so there's no point in even looking into it."

"Damn, don't get all butt hurt just 'cause I pointed out the obvious." Yukari shrugged. "Fine, forget it. But look, I ain't sayin' you need to go all rainbows, mullets, and Birkenstocks. Just quit tryin' to hide it, that's all."

"And how would I do that?" Minamo asked, trying to contain a smile and failing. If there was one thing Yukari was good at, it was making Minamo smile. No matter how often the woman teased her, she could never get truly angry with her.

"Shit, go on a date or somethin'. Gettin' laid would do ya some good too. You're way too uptight."

"Oh, it's just that easy, huh? And where would I find this date?"

"I already told ya who I think you should do." Yukari instantly drew her knees up to her chest, dodging the incoming kick, laughing hysterically.

Slapping a palm to her face, Minamo sighed. "You're terrible," she said.

"Heh, that's why ya love me," Yukari replied merrily.

With a small huff, Minamo picked up her glass and took a small drink. 'I really shouldn't be so secretive. Looks like Kagura might know, especially after all that stupid stuttering I did earlier. If it comes up again, maybe I'll just be honest,' Minamo thought.

It wasn't the first time she had thought about telling someone, and it certainly wasn't like she didn't want to be open about it. She just never could muster up the courage to tell anyone else, let alone ask a woman on a date. Being able to tell if another woman may or may not be interested in her was something she was never good at. Yukari constantly teased her, always saying she had 'piss poor gaydar.' The very idea of being rejected because she accidentally asked out a straight woman was unbearable. This was the never ending cycle she routinely found herself in. One moment she'd be filled with motivation and courage, the next she'd be filled with fear and doubt.

'Why does it have to be so hard? It would be nice to find someone like Kagura though.' The thought had just slipped its way into her head, and Minamo silently cursed Yukari for planting the seed, but she couldn't deny that Yukari was right. Had Kagura been older, and not a student, she could easily see an attraction to her. A vision of an older Kagura came to mind. Minamo imagined she'd look like her mother, they had very strong resemblance. Although the more she thought about it, the more she believed Kagura would be even more stunning. 'Dammit Yukari. Why'd you have to point those things out.' She shook her head, pushing the thoughts from her mind. 'I shouldn't think about a student like that.'

Picking up her glass again, Minamo killed the rest of her beer, and refilled the cup. Drinking seemed to be a lot more appealing now. "So, how was your day?" she asked, hoping to change the subject.

"Pfft, almost chucked a book at that Takino girl's head again."

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	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Dreams

"On your mark!"

"Get set!"

'BANG'

Kagura watched intently as the first group of runners took off for the relay race. She kept a close eye on the girl from her class, but an even closer eye on the one from class three. That was the group they needed to beat. The whole sports festival came down to this race. So far it looked promising, class three was lagging behind by a fair distance.

She glanced over to the girls in her group. A tall girl with long, black hair, casually stood next to her, quietly watching with a look of indifference. _Not letting her beat me this time. No way. I won't let coach down. We're gonna win this one! _On the sidelines, she could hear Kurosawa cheering on the rest of the class. She grinned and started jogging ahead as her team mate closed in. When the baton hit her hand, she took off at full tilt.

The rest of the group quickly fell behind her, but still, Kagura pushed on with all her might. She could see the finish line approaching fast. Victory was within reach, that was until another figure appeared beside her. Kagura didn't even bother to look to see who it was. She just pushed herself even harder. It was close, real close, and Kagura leaned forward in an attempt to gain even the slightest lead over her opponent. Sadly, it wasn't enough. The girl next to her broke through the finish line just a fraction of a second before she did.

The crowd went wild. Some were cheering while others were cursing. Kagura just tuned it out. Her legs were on fire, and she gasped for air. Looking over at her opponent, she was appalled to see that the girl was barely out of breath.

As if to underline Kagura's feeling of utter defeat, a sharp pain erupted throughout her leg. A massive cramp overtook her thigh, nearly bringing her to the ground. Sucking air through clenched teeth, Kagura hopped her way towards the nearest bench.

"Kagura! Are you ok?" asked a familiar voice.

"Charlie horse," Kagura groaned, looking up to see Minamo rushing over with a concerned look on her face.

"Whoa, ok, just relax. Let me help." Minamo knelt down, immediately took ahold of Kagura's calf, and started working at the muscle.

"Ow ow ow ow. Man that really friggin hurts. It's higher, like right in my thigh."

"Alright, I gotcha," Minamo said. She moved her hands up to Kagura's thigh, and continued massaging.

It wasn't uncommon for a coach to help one of their athletes with a cramp. Kagura remembered how her last track and field coach had done this exact same thing. But for some reason, this was different. _If coach really is..._ The question had been on her mind for the past few weeks. And despite feeling guilty for indirectly invading Minamo's privacy, Kagura still couldn't keep her curiosity in check. _Does that mean she might like.._. Kagura suddenly felt her face heat up as blood rushed to her face and blush spread over her cheeks.

She looked away, hoping to conceal her embarrassment. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Minamo intently, looking for signs of anything out the ordinary. The woman was completely focused on the task at hand. With a stern etched on her face, she worked the irritated muscle. Kagura's eyes fell to Minamo's hands, watching them mehodically move over her thigh. The small rhythmic motions were hypnotic. Time seemed to slow, mere seconds passing at an eternity's pace. Kagura could swear the temperature out side had risen.

"Kagura...Kagura?"

"Huh?" Kagura was suddenly jolted back to reality. Pulling her eyes away from Minamo's hands, she found the woman staring at her expectantly. _Man, how long had I been spacing out?_

"They just announced the beginning of the folk dance. Feeling up to it?"

"Oh, uh..." Kagura took a moment to think. It suddenly occurred to her that the cramp had long gone, and looking back, she couldn't even recall when it had gone away. Despite feeling better, the idea of a traditional folk dance didn't seem all that appealing in its own right, and she couldn't think of anyone she really wanted to dance with. Besides, the idea of staying put seemed pretty nice. "Nah, I think I'll just stay and rest for now."

"Fair enough. How's your leg? Feeling better?"

"Yea," Kagura began slowly. Her brain was fuzzy, and she was still feeling strangely warm. It took her a moment to compose the rest of her thoughts. "A lot better, actually. Thanks for helpin' out."

"Of course, glad I could help," Minamo said cheerfully, standing up and taking a seat next Kagura on the bench.

The two sat in silence and watched as all the students gathered into circles, and the music began to play. When the pairs began dancing, Minamo smiled. "Sure does bring back some good memories."

"Oh yea? Like what?" Kagura asked curiously.

"Oh, just the fun times I had back in school. You know, twice they threw me on the boys side to help even out the numbers. I actually ended dancing with Yukari both times," Minamo said.

"Really? That must've been rough."

Minamo laughed. "Believe it or not, she'd actually get really into it. It was the only thing she actually liked about the sports fest."

"No way," Kagura said in disbelief.

Nodding in reply, Minamo pointed to an approaching figure. "Speak of the devil," she said.

"What the hell, Nyamo!" Yukari shouted. "This thing's gonna be over soon, and you owe me at least one dance."

Minamo shot Kagura a, 'see what I mean,' smile. She then stood up, stretched slowly, and let out a heavy sigh. "Alright, alright, let's go." With small nod of goodbye to Kagura, Minamo took off at a leisurely pace with Yuakir bouncing in excitement next to her.

Kagura could only watch in amusement. The excited antics of her English teacher reminded her of a young child, and she soon found herself laughing out loud. Unfortunately, her laughter was short lived.

"And once the dance is over, they're gonna announce how my class totally mopped the floor with yours!" she heard Yukari shout out.

Falling silent, Kagura felt the heavy weight of gloom overtake her. She had given her all today, and it just wasn't enough. Losing a race wasn't foreign to her, she'd lost many in the past. Today, however, she had wanted to win more than anything. It had been a long time since she had raced on the track, and she'd wanted to show Minamo how good she was outside of the pool too.

With her head hung low, Kagura ran her fingers through her hair. _Why did that freakishly fast girl have to be there. I'd've had that race in the bag if it wasn't for her. _Her eyes began to tear up. It had been years since she had ever cried over losing a race, but for some reason she couldn't help herself today. She tried to let it go, driving the heels of her palms into her eyes in an effort to make the tears go away, but it was no use, they still came.

She was so caught up with trying to maintain her composure, that not only did she fail to notice the dance had ended, but she also missed the announcement of the winners. Now, she was approached by a group who radiated defeat. It was the rest of the girls form the relay, the group who had truly wanted to win the sports fest over the rest. None of them said a word, they just stood there, silently. Even though Kagura knew they didn't blame her, she still felt like the loss was her fault, and the tears came on with renewed vigor.

Soon, more members of the class gathered around, followed by Minamo. When she walked up, she quickly picked up on the sullen mood. Seemingly unfazed by her down trodden class, she put on large smile, and addressed the group.

"Look, I know we weren't able to win today, but all of you did really well. Let's work at it again next year."

"Yes, Ms. Kurosawa," the group grumbled, still feeling defeated.

Kagura had put her arm over her eyes to try and hide her tears. Now she was just plain embarrassed to be seen in her current state. She was quickly approached by Minamo.

"Come on, there's nothing for you to cry about," she said in a calm, reassuring voice.

Just the tone of Minamo's voice was enough to put Kagura at ease. Lowering her arm, Kagura took a deep breath. "I know," she said quietly.

"Hey, Nyamo! Time to pay up!"

Minamo scowled, and angrily glared at Yukari.

"What's she talkin' about, coach?" Kagura asked, along with several other students.

"Oh, uh, nothing! Nothing at all!" Minamo stammered. She quickly turned and bolted to Yukari, where they held a conversation in hushed tones.

Unable to hear what was being said, Kagura watched on in confusion. When Minamo returned with money in her hand, she couldn't help but ask, "what's that for?"

"Oh, this?" Minamo asked, holding up the cash in her hand. "Well, since you all tried so hard, I decided that I'd treat everyone to some juice," she said with a smile, earning a round of cheers from her class.

XxXxXxX

Summer soon turned to autumn, autumn turned to winter, and before Minamo knew it, winter break was just around the corner. With the cold weather, and the school lacking an indoor pool, the swim team was on its usual break. And although the extra time at the end of the day was nice, Minamo greatly missed coaching. She enjoyed the bond she had developed with the members of the team, and was looking forward to starting back up when spring came along.

There was one team member in particular she found herself missing. Their after practice conversations had been a much welcomed part of her day. And now that they were gone, she truly realized just how much they meant to her.

Looking out over her homeroom, she found this particular person working on her homework with the rest of the class, a look of pained concentration her face. Minamo smiled. Kagura may not have earned the best grades out of the bunch, but at least she put forth an effort. _I hope she joins the team again next year._

A glance at her watch showed that the day was just about over. Neatly stacking the papers on her podium, she read over her to-do list for the end of the day and let out a dejected sigh. _End of semester filing. Bleh. _She glared at her filing cabinet through narrowed eyes. _And both my class reps are absent today too. Great, just great._

Clearing her throat, Minamo addressed her class. "Alright everyone, go ahead and start packing up your things." She could practically feel the excitement rise as a dull murmur rose throughout the room. Everyone was no doubt looking forward to going home, one more day down before the break. "And one more thing. Since both of the class representatives are absent today, I'd like to ask for a volunteer to stay after class and help me with some sorting and filing for the end of the semester."

Silence fell over the room.

"It's only a little bit of work. It won't take long at all. I promise," Minamo practically pleaded.

A lone hand quickly shot up, its owner waving it around enthusiastically. Several other hands halfheartedly rose, but Minamo's decision was easily made. She smiled, surprisingly happy with her volunteer.

"Thank you, Kagura. That's very nice of you to stay and help."

"Sure thing, coach," Kagura replied enthusiastically.

Several moments later, the bell rang, signaling the end of the day. The rest of the students quickly filed out, leaving Minamo and Kagura alone in the room.

"Ok, so let's knock this out," Minamo began. She pointed to the filing cabinet in the corner of the room. "All we really need to do is make sure those are sorted by date, and alphabetically."

"Sounds easy enough," Kagura said with a slight shrug.

The two quickly went to work, and Minamo was pleased at how smooth it was going. Within a matter of minutes, they had developed a sorting system and were making fast progress. They worked silently and efficiently, and what surprised Minamo the most, was that it wasn't an awkward silence. Even though she wanted to make small talk, she didn't want to interrupt the nice moment she felt they were having. Just being in each other's presence was more than enough, and a smile came across Minamo's face.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a figure standing in the doorway. Her smile quickly changed into a look of concern as she turned to see Yukari entering the room. _Oh no, she's got that trouble causing smirk on her face. She's up to no good._

"Well, well, what's goin' on over here? She your new class rep or somethin'?" Yukari asked mischievously. She plopped herself into a nearby desk and propped her chin on steepled fingers.

"My class reps are absent. Kagura was nice enough to fill in and help me out," Minamo said dryly, unsure of where Yukari was going. "And why aren't you in YOUR class right now? You know this needs to be done by the end of the day."

Yukari waved a dismissive hand. "Don't worry, don't worry, I've got my two reps makin' magic on their own. They don't need me."

"Yukari, you really should be over -"

"So, Kagura," Yukari began, cutting Minamo off mid-sentence. "Pretty nice of you to stay late and help your teacher out."

"Oh it's no big deal at all. I like helpin' coach out," Kagura said cheerfully.

"How sweet." A devilish Cheshire Cat like smile appeared on Yukari's face. "So no boyfriend waiting for you after class?"

"Yukari!" Minamo scolded. "What kind of questions is that?"

"What? I think it's a perfectly legit question," Yukari replied, looking to Kagura expectantly. "Well?"

At first, Kagura simply stared at Yukari, totally caught off guard by the random question. She then looked away sheepishly, and lightly shook her head. "No, um... I don't have a boyfriend."

Before Yukari could respond, Minamo had grabbed her by the arm, and began dragging her towards the door.

"What is wrong with you? That's none of your business. Now please, unless you have an ACTUAL reason to be here then GET OUT," Minamo growled.

"Alright, damn. No need to get all pissy. I was just gettin' real tired of hearing Tomo ask about that stupid love letter incident," Yukari said boisterously.

Minamo froze on the spot. If a glare could kill, Yukari would be dead several times over. She tried to say something, anything, but words were escaping her. When Yukari simply smiled and winked at her on her way out of the room, Minamo let out a strangled incoherent noise before she slammed the door shut.

Growling obscenities under her breath, she reluctantly turned around to find Kagura staring at her in bewilderment. Her anger was quickly replaced by embarrassment. Having a student see her lose her composure was bad enough, but having one of her most embarrassing secrets thrown on top of that, and it was a whole new level. Words were still escaping Minamo's mind. She knew the inevitable question that was coming, and tried to mentally brace herself.

"Love...letter?" Kagura asked quietly. It seemed like the question was more to herself than directly at Minamo.

Minamo pinched the bridge of her nose, and let out a small groan of frustration. She hadn't the slightest idea of what to say, or where to even begin. "I...it...um...look this is really -"

"Coach, if this is something you don't wanna talk about, you don't have too," Kagura said.

With a sigh of relief, Minamo was thankful that Kagura was always so polite and respectful towards her. She knew that if she told Kagura to drop the subject, it would be dropped, no questions asked. There was always a chance it would come up later, but for now, Minamo would have a reprieve and everything would go back to normal. For some reason, that idea slightly irked her. She was tired of keeping secrets bottled up inside. Something had to give. By now, Kagura was certainly a friend. Standing up straight, and putting on a smile, Minamo felt Kagura deserved to know at least a little bit of the truth.

"Kagura, can you keep a secret?"

"Huh?" Kagura was clearly taken aback, but she quickly rallied, her initial look of surprise replaced by one of excited curiosity. "Yea, sure coach, whatever you need. You know I got your back." She took a seat and gave Minamo her full attention.

Crossing her arms over chest, Minamo leaned against an adjacent desk. "Well, back when I was a first year in high school, I had a rather large crush on one of the second years."

Minamo made sure not mention a name, and payed extra attention not to bring up specific details about the person. She wasn't quite ready yet for Kagura to find out that said crush had been a woman. Keeping things vague, but informative was going to take some effort. _Just keep my composure, and keep going._

"So you gave him a love letter?" Kagura asked.

"Yes..." Minamo began. She chose to ignore Kagura's use of the word 'him.' It was an understandable assumption, and she decided not to correct it. "We were in the soccer club together, and we were actually quite close. I figured they'd return my feelings, but oh how I was wrong."

Minamo brought a palm to her face. This part of the story still haunted her. The look of disgust on that person's face was clear as day. A myriad of emotions began to surface, none of which were pleasant. Embarrassment, shame, and guilt were painfully reinforcing the motivation to keep this all one big secret. Despite her inner turmoil, Minamo maintained her composure. Years of being a competitive athlete had taught her how keep up a good game face.

"At first they thought I was joking. "But once they realized I was serious, they said I was disgusting."

"What? No way," Kagura said disbelievingly.

Nodding in reply, Minamo continued on. "They kept calling me horrible names, threatening to tell everyone about how I'd confessed my love to them."

Sitting perfectly still, Kagura stared with wide eyes like she was watching the plot to an intense suspense movie finally unfold. "So what'd you do?"

It took a moment for Minamo to form the right words. Admitting that she had an emotional breakdown wasn't going to be easy, especially since she always tried her best to be calm and collected. "At that point, I just dropped to me knees and started sobbing, begging them not tell anyone. But they wouldn't listen. Instead, they kept calling me names and threatening to tell everyone. At least, until Yukari showed up..."

"Yukari?"

Minamo couldn't help the small chuckle that came out. "She just happened to be walking by and saw what was happening. I didn't even really know her at the time. Turns out she had been listening for quite some time." Now Minamo smiled. "She barged in and just started swinging."

There were many ways in which one could describe Yukari, but a knight in shining armor was likely never once considered to be on the list. That day, however, Minamo had thought of her as just that. The image of Yukari coming to her rescue and sucker punching the older girl out of nowhere would be forever imprinted into her memory.

"Yukari had caught them completely by surprise, knocking them to the ground." Minamo watched as Kagura's jaw dropped, but kept going. "After throwing in a few kicks while they were down, she told them if they ever bothered me, or called me any names again, she'd come right back and finish what she just started."

"Whoa. I mean, I know Yukari can be a little nuts, but damn. Did she get in trouble or anything?"

"I guess they were to scared of her to say anything to anyone about it, so no, she didn't. Yukari did have a bit of a reputation back in high school. Most people didn't want to mess with her."

"Yea I can totally see that," Kagura added.

Minamo nodded in agreement. An angry Yukari was never a pleasant sight. "After scaring them off, she helped me to my feet and asked if I was ok. From then on, we became best friends. She offered to look after me, and even said she'd help me land the person of my dreams," Minamo said with a light laugh.

She recalled many dates that her mother had set her up with, only to have them embarrassingly crashed and ruined by Yukari. Not that she particularly minded, but Yukari sometimes took it the extreme. Simply letting someone down was often times much easier than apologizing to an angry date, and even angrier mother, for your friend's crazy antics and freeloading.

Kagura furrowed her brows in thought. "That doesn't seem like such a bad story. I mean, it's pretty cool 'cause it actually shows a nicer side to Yukari...sorta. Why don't you tell anyone about it?"

The questions caught Minamo slightly off guard. She had never thought of that incident as anything other than traumatizing. Never once had it occurred to her that it was in fact the story of how she met her best friend. Still, it wasn't a tale to be told to anyone else. It had been difficult enough not to mention a name, or gender, and the idea of slipping up, and letting her secret loose, was far from pleasant.

"Let's just say that it's a moment in my life that was very emotionally difficult. I'm not a huge fan of being reminded about it," Minamo finally said.

A small frown made its way on to Kagura's face. "Yea I guess I can see your point." Her frown was then quickly replaced by a large grin. "But it's cool you told me about it, coach. And don't worry, I won't tell anyone. I promise."

That innocent, happy go lucky, and trusting smile, brought on a wave of guilt. Even though Minamo had just confided in Kagura something that only two other people likely knew about, it felt wrong that she had omitted the real truth behind it all. Part of her mind was quick to say she did the right thing, that Kagura was too young to trust with such matters. A different part, on the other hand, was just as quick to say otherwise. Still, after so many years of keeping things bottled up, pushing aside the little voice that wanted to be heard had become second nature.

Now, she told herself what she always did. _Later, I'll do it later. One day I'll tell her the whole story. If she's still around later on, I'll make sure to tell her everything._

XxXxXxX

Pain exploded throughout Kagura's thigh. Clutching her leg, she dropped to a knee, inhaling sharply. "Awe man, not another cramp," she groaned.

She had barely hit the ground, when a pair of arms wrapped around her, lifting her back up to her feet. A familiar figure appeared underneath her arm, supporting her weight, and she felt a hand gently wrap around her waist, pulling her in tight.

"It'll be alright, Kagura. I'll take care of you."

The sound of the voice alone was enough to take the edge off the pain, and she found herself being lowered onto a bench. Minamo Kurosawa knelt down in front of her and gently ran her hands over her thigh. Kagura watched on as Minamo continued to caress her leg, a familiar warmth spreading through her. It was a strange feeling of déjà vu, and she didn't want it to stop.

For a moment their eyes locked, Minamo's soft hands slowly sliding the entire length of Kagura's thigh. "Feeling better?" she asked softly.

Kagura was only able to give a small nod in response. She didn't want to say yes. She didn't want Minamo to stop.

"Good," Minamo said as she leaned down and lightly pressed her lips to Kagua's inner thigh.

"Kagura," she whispered.

"Kagura," she said again a little louder.

"Kagura!" This time the voice wasn't Minamo's. It was someone else's entirely.

"Kagura! Time to get up."

Kagura bolted upright in her bed to find her mother staring at her expectantly. Her heart was racing so fast she could swear it was going to beat its way out of her chest. With a massive lump in her throat, all she could manage was to give her mother a wide eyed stare.

"Well don't just sit there and stare at me. Hurry up and get dressed. Your father and I want to get to the shrine early to beat the crowds," her mother said, tossing a shirt and jeans on the bed and making her way out of the room. "Breakfast is ready too," she added from down the hall.

Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, Kagura sat for a moment, feeling dazed and confused. She'd experienced vivid dreams before, but never one which had left her feeling the way she was now. Her heart was still beating heavily in her chest, and she was slightly out of breath. Looking down at her legs, she could feel the sensation of warm lips pressed lightly against her skin. A small jolt coursed through her body causing her to shudder. She clamped legs together, burying her face in her hands, a massive blush spreading across her face. This wasn't an unfamiliar feeling, and she couldn't believe that she was experiencing it now, after a dream with Minamo, who had kissed her.

Slowly, Kagura dragged herself off her bed and began to get ready. She moved as if she was on autopilot, going through the motions without truly paying attention to what she was doing. Her mind was focused solely on replaying her dream over and over, and she found herself wondering where it would have gone if she hadn't been woken up. What surprised her most, was that she was mildly upset that the scene had been interrupted in the first place.

Finally dressed and ready, she made her way out to the kitchen to find her parents both at the table eating breakfast. Her father looked up from his plate and gave a wide smile.

"Happy new year," he said excitedly.

Taking her seat at the table, Kagura returned the greeting, and began to work at the plate of food that had slid in front of her. She paid little attention to her parents' conversation. The inner part of her thigh began to tingle, almost like a slight itch that couldn't be scratched. Kagura crossed legs, trying to ignore the feeling and failing.

"Kagura, is everything ok?" her mother asked. "You've been really spacey this morning. More so than usual."

Looking up to find both her parents staring at her with looks of mild curiosity, Kagura quickly shoved a large portion of food in her mouth in attempt to buy a little extra time.

"I'm just really tired, that's all," Kagura eventually replied.

With slight shrugs, her parents easily accepted the excuse, both knowing Kagura's morning sluggishness all too well. For once, Kagura was happy she wasn't a morning person. Unfortunately, her reprieve was short lived.

"So," her father began, "you have any good dreams last night? You know what they say, a dream on New Year's Eve is likely to come true."

The food which was in Kagura's mouth nearly found itself ejected all over the table, but was quickly reined in with a sharp inhale. Now, she found herself violently coughing in an attempt to work her breakfast from her windpipe.

"Oh shit, you alright there?" Kagura's father reached over and forcefully slapped a hand on her back. "How many times have I told ya to slow down while you eat," he said dryly while continuing his assault.

"Alright...alright...I'm ok," Kagua choked out, swatting her father's hand away before it landed on her back once again.

"Are you sure?" her mother asked with concern.

Kagura simply nodded in reply, catching her breath. Her face was a deep scarlet, and not from coughing or lack of oxygen. She couldn't believe how fast her heart was racing. As much as she wanted to deny it, in the back of her mind, a small voice was cheering at the prospect of her dream coming true.

XxXxXxX

When Minamo Kurosawa spoke, Kagura usually did a pretty good job of paying attention. Even though it was the last day of the school year, and her mentor was giving a congratulatory speech to her class for completing their first year of high school, Kagua's mind was off in it's own little world, and Minamo's voice was a soft echo off in the distance.

Last night she'd had another dream, one very similar to New Year's Eve, only this time, it hadn't been interrupted. A familiar tingling sensation made its way along her inner thigh. It traveled its way up her stomach, over her chest, the crook of her neck, and finally ended on her lips. Absentmindedly, she touched her fingers to her mouth, the feeling of a pair of lips pressed to hers still very fresh in her mind. She looked down and recalled where each kiss had been placed.

She was immediately consumed with embarrassment. Looking around cautiously, she was afraid her fellow classmates might somehow catch on to where her mind had wandered. Even she was surprised with herself for having the dream to begin with, and the idea of what others might think caused her to inwardly cringe.

The first time she had such a dream she pushed it aside and did her best not to think about it when she was in class. For the last few months it had been easy enough, but this time there was no way it could be ignored. The intensity of the dream, how she felt when she woke up, how she felt now, it was overwhelming her senses.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Kagura ran her fingers through her hair. When she looked at Minamo, she felt a strange feeling of excitement. _What does this mean? Why is my heart racing so fast?_

All around her, the rest of the class quickly stood up from their seats and began gathering their belongings. So caught up in thought, Kagura had failed to hear the bell ring. As the students began filing out of the classroom, many stopped by to thank Minamo for all she had done for them and to say they were exited to see her again next year. Kagura simply sat at her desk and watched Minamo politely bow to each student with a a smile.

Before she knew it, she was the last one sitting in the room. When Minamo turned to her with a smile, Kagura felt her face explode as a massive blush overtook it. Quickly bending down to organize her things, she took a few more deep breaths and hoped that Minamo hadn't noticed how flushed she was.

_Game face. Game face,_ she told herself several times.

With her belongings packed away, she stood up and looked to Minamo, returning her smile. Either Minamo hadn't noticed Kagura's flustered state, or she chose to ignore it. Kagura wasn't quite sure, but she wasn't going to argue.

"Are you excited to be done with your first year?" Minamo asked happily.

"Uh...yea...yea I totally am," Kagura stuttered out, trying her hardest to not stare at Minamo's lips and failing miserably.

Minamo fixed Kagura with a serious look, and Kagura held her breath. _She's gonna ask what's wrong. Crap she's gonna ask what's wrong. What do I say? What do I -_

"Now, you're joining the swim team again, right? It just wouldn't be the same without you."

For a moment, Kagura was silent. She hadn't been expecting the question and she was both happy for the reprieve and surprised by the question itself. As far as she was concerned, it was just a given that she was signing up for the team again. Not that it had ever been mentioned; she just assumed it was common knowledge. To Minamo it must have looked like Kagua was having second thoughts, and in that small moment of silence, Kagura saw a genuine look of sadness flash across her coach's face. It was a look she never wanted see.

"Heck yea I'm joining the team again," Kagura said with a wide smile, hoping to erase that horrible look on Minamo's face.

Her reply had the desired effect. The smile that Minamo donned made Kagura's heart flutter. It was a look she found herself wanting to see a whole lot more of.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: A Step Further

Over the small break, Kagura had plenty of time to reflect on the new thoughts and dreams which had invaded her mind. Strong emotions came and went. First and foremost was embarrassment. Actions in such explicit detail had never been the source of her dreams, and she was still struggling wrap her head around them. Shame would rear it's ugly head not far after embarrassment. The mere thought of someone else discovering her lewd thoughts of another women were discomforting to say the least. What would her parents think? What would Minamo think?

Despite all the negative feelings and emotions, positive and happy ones were just as equally over ruling them. The idea of seeing Minamo again was not only a source of slight panic, but would also make her feel extremely giddy. It was all difficult to comprehend, but she wasn't going to lie to herself by saying she didn't enjoy the dreams she had either. Kagura knew she wanted to be around Minamo as much as possible. Just the very thought of seeing the woman's smile again sent out a fluttering in her chest, and she found that she couldn't stop smiling. As difficult as she knew it would be, Kagura vowed to do her best to maintain her composure and not let her embarrassment get the best of her. The last thing she wanted to do was draw attention to herself. She knew that with just a little time and patience, she'd get to bottom of all these strange feelings.

To help clear her head and get her bearings straight, Kagura had taken to running again. Being able to put her mind in a different zone, to push herself harder and further, had truly helped to calm her nerves. Now, she was looking forward to starting her second year of high school.

Unfortunately, the first day was off to a rough start. The new class roster revealed that Kagura had been switched into a completely new class. With the assumption that she'd be in the same class with the same homeroom teacher, Kagura had a small moment of panic when the news finally sunk in. With a few minutes before the bell rang, she had gone straight to Minamo and asked if there was a way to be transferred back.

Minamo had been quick with the damage control, and assured Kagura she was heading to a good class. She mentioned there was a group of girls that she'd fit right in with, and while Kagura was initially skeptical, Minamo made sure to put her worries at ease. After giving several examples of how nice and how much fun the group could be, Minamo filled Kagura in on who was who to help out that much more. Despite being upset about not getting back into Minamo's class, she couldn't help but be excited about meeting this new group.

When Kagura had shown up to class, she walked in confident that she'd make new friends. That confidence was unfortunately ruined within minutes. She had a feeling she'd be able to relate the most with the athlete of the group, so she went straight for Sakaki first, the one she was the most excited to meet. Sadly, Sakaki had no recollection of who she was. Worst of all, she had barely said more than two words, and Kagura felt like she had made a fool of herself when she declared themselves rivals seemingly out of no where.

To make matters worse, shortly after her embarrassing run in with Sakaki, she was confronted by another girl. Of all things, Kagura had least expected to be accused of invading some one's personal space, and then verbally assaulting them. It had come completely out of no where, and from a complete stranger.

Once class started, things continued their downward spiral when Kagura managed to get in an argument with Tomo. She had been prepared for the girl's hyperactive antics, but the other girl just kept throwing out the insults, and Kagura couldn't help but fire back. So far, she was starting to think trying to hang out with this group was a bad idea. Still, she wasn't about to give up.

There were three more members of the group left, all of which seemed nice enough. All she had to do was wait for the right opportunity, and it seemed that now, during lunch break, was as good a time as any. Just as she was getting up from her desk, she was once again confronted, but this time by someone she had seen before.

"Hello, Kagura?"

Despite only formally running into the girl once before, Kagura had always waved and greeted her while passing in the halls. She still remembered her name, and was always surprised at how shy she was. Even now, she was standing before Kagura with a red face, and was fidgeting nervously.

"Hey Chihiro. What's up?" Kagura said with a wide grin.

"Oh, um. I just..." Chihiro took a deep breath, as if trying to work up the courage to continue on. "Wanted to apologize for my friend, Kaorin. I don't think she meant to be so rude earlier."

Kagura raised eyebrow in surprise. Not that she felt she was even owed an apology to begin with, but of all the people to be apologizing, it shouldn't have been Chihiro. Now, Kagura was just plain confused.

"No...problem?" she replied curiously.

"I think she was just trying to look out for Sakaki, that's all."

Waving a dismissive hand, Kagura put on her best easy going smile. "No worries. I was actually just about to go try and smooth things out with Sakaki anyways."

"Oh, ok. Well good luck then," Chihiro said with an ever so slight slump in her shoulders.

"Thanks. I'll see you around," Kagura replied, adding a small wave goodbye.

As she turned her attention back her goal, she couldn't help but feel mildly relieved. The day had been off to a rough start, but with a reminder that there was at least one slightly familiar, and friendly person, in the room, everything looked a little better. Making her way up towards the group, she took her time, not wanting to seem over bearing, and also trying to get a good idea of what they might be talking about.

Sakaki was absentmindedly staring out the window, and didn't seem to be interested in the groups' conversation. The girl with the glasses, who she figured was Yomi, looked like she was getting increasingly irritated. Chiyo was easily recognizable, the school's famous eleven year old, and looked to be frantically refereeing what appeared to be a heated debate between Tomo and the girl from Osaka, who Kagura had learned was simply called, Osaka.

"But...but none of these facts make any sense," Chiyo exclaimed.

"Chiyo, it's a pointless argument. It'll just hurt your head trying to figure it out," Yomi said with a dejected sigh.

Completely ignoring the protests from their friends, the argumentative pair continued.

"Chuck Norris is WAY better than Vin Diesel. He once pissed in a semi truck's gas tank as a joke. That truck is now known as Optimus Prime!" Tomo shouted, clenching a fist in front of a triumphant smirk.

There was a moment of silence as Osaka pondered her next answer with utter seriousness. Tomo placed her hands on her hips, her triumphant smile widening. It looked like she might somehow be the winner of this debate if Osaka didn't answer soon. Kagura couldn't help but smile and found herself wondering if the other girl was going to pull out a rebuttal. Just as it looked like Tomo was about to announce her victory, Osaka appeared to have a lightbulb go off in her head.

"Oh yea? Well Vin Diesel CAN touch MC Hammer," she said confidently.

Apparently caught off guard by the answer, Tomo's eyes widened and her look of satisfaction disappeared from her face. Now she had a hand to her chin in deep thought while vigorously tapping a foot. At this point, Kagura decided to speak up. She knew plenty of Chuck Norris jokes from listening to her father and his friends from the department. With a wide smile, she wanted to lend a hand to the stumped girl before her, in hopes of making up for their earlier argument.

"When Chuck Norris does push-ups, he doesn't push himself up. He pushes the world down," she said matter of fact.

The whole group rounded on Kagura with mixed expressions. It was hard for Kagura not to laugh out loud. The first thing she heard was the audible slap of Yomi's palm to her forehead, followed by her grumbling about more horrible jokes. Chiyo's mind looked to be thoroughly blown. The small girl had a pained expression on her face as she tried to comprehend what had just been said, but was clearly coming up blank. Osaka simply stared at her with a straight face, no doubt upset about another person taking Tomo's side. Even Sakaki had turned to see what was happening and was watching with a quiet curiosity.

Everyone just stared, and at first, Kagura thought it might have been a bad idea to butt in. If it hadn't been for the ridiculous smile on Tomo's face, Kagura could have sworn she'd managed to offend the whole group. The silence was broken when Osaka's face contorted into an expression of defeat.

"Wha!? Two against one, that ain't fair," she protested.

"Hah!" Tomo shouted, jumping up and shoving a finger towards Osaka. "I win! Even Fancy Fun-bags over here agrees that Chuck Norris is way more awesome."

Kagura was about to object to the derogatory name, but before she could, Tomo had thrown an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in tight. With a Cheshire Cat like smile, Tomo gave Kagura a thumbs up.

"You seem pretty cool after all. You should totally hang out with us from now on."

XxXxXxX

At the start of the year, Minamo had been worried about Kagura. Small things, such as not making eye contact, spacing out more than usual, and overall getting easily flustered, were becoming a concern. Looking back, Minamo could even recall several occurrences of the same oddities just about a week or two before the end of the last school year. The girl had also been surprisingly upset about being switched to another homeroom. That whole conversation had seemed like something was off, and Minamo just couldn't quite place her finger on what it was.

She had thought of confronting Kagura about it, but decided against it when she seemed to snap back to normal after the first week of school. Now, Minamo smiled and laughed out loud. For the last few minutes, Kagura had been excitedly filling her in on all the fun she'd been having with her new friends.

Despite being a well known athlete, and well liked amongst her peers, Kagura had for some reason never made any real close friends. Minamo was also surprised to see that it never appeared to actually bother Kagura. She seemed perfectly happy spending her free time at school with Minamo. It occurred to her that she was likely the only person at the school who Kagura considered an actual friend. Up until now of course.

The idea that she might now be replaced by other friends caused a small frown to make its way on to Minamo's face. The logical part of her brain told her that idea was ridiculous. But unfortunately, the jealous part was to busy stamping out that logic. Lightly shaking the thought from her head, Minamo quickly put on a smile and decided she needed to change the subject.

Seeing a small break in the conversation, Minamo spoke up. "So, are you ready for next week? It's our first away match of the year."

Kagura stopped in her tracks and looked to Minamo with wide eyes. "Crap! I totally spaced. Both my parents are workin' that day. I gotta catch up to the others and see if I can hitch a ride with one of them". She frantically began to pick up her pace and head towards the locker room.

"I can give you a ride," Minamo said hastily, once again stopping Kagura in her tracks.

The words had just come out on their own accord. There had been no thought process behind them, just a quick knee jerk reaction. Even though Minamo always offered to help her students and team members, she had never once offered to personally give one of them a ride anywhere. Minamo watched as several emotions quickly flashed across Kagura's face. First it looked like mild confusion, followed by surprise, and finally a wide grin of happiness.

"For real?" Kagura asked excitedly.

The thought of telling Kagura she should still ask someone on the team for a ride came to mind. But when she saw the look of pure excitement and joy on Kagura's face, there was no way she could turn her down.

"Of course. I'd be more than happy too." Minamo pulled out her clipboard and a small, blank piece of paper. She handed them to Kagura. "Go ahead and write down your address and phone number, and I'll come by and pick you up."

Quickly taking the clipboard, Kagura scribbled out the needed information in a flurry. Minamo had to stifle her laughter at just how excited Kagura was. After giving the returned piece of paper a once over, she pulled out another, wrote down her own phone number, and held it out. With a tentative hand, Kagura took the proffered paper, and upon looking at it, her eyes shot wide open. The care in which the paper was folded and placed in a pocket rivaled that of the treatment given to a sacred artifact. This time, Minamo couldn't hold back her laughter any longer.

"It's just my cell number. If anything changes, just give me a call and let me know," she said with a slight chuckle.

"Nothin's gonna change, coach. I'll be ready to go, don't you worry," Kagura said excitedly.

The rest of the week flew by in a flash. Now, Minamo found herself parked in front a small, simple suburban house. She double checked the address once more, just to be on the safe side. Satisfied to be in the right place, Minamo was surprised at just how close her own apartment complex was. _She really couldn't be more than a mile away._ A glance at the clock showed it was just about time. Pulling out her phone, Minamo punched in Kagura's number.

A motion at the door caught her attention just before she could press the send button. She looked up to see Kagura hastily locking her front door, and jogging over towards the car. An instant later, the door opened and Kagura plopped herself into the passenger seat.

"Hey Coach," she greeted.

"Hello Kagura. Have everything you need?" Minamo asked, receiving a nod and a wide smile in reply.

The drive to the rival school, all though short, was a pleasant one. It was strange. The radio station stayed on the same channel the entire ride. There was no backseat driver, or yelling obscenities at other motorists and pedestrians. It occurred to Minamo that she was way to accustomed to driving with Yukari, and not many others. On occasions she'd drive her mother around, but she was just as bad of a backseat driver as Yukari.

Once parked, Minamo watched as Kagura exited the car. A small smile made its way on to her face. For the rest of the swim meet, that same smile stayed.

Watching Kagura compete seemed different now. Minamo was hit with a sudden realization that her bond with Kagura had significantly changed today. It was no longer just a student, teacher or coach, teammate relationship. With the simple act of exchanging phone numbers, and an address, it was no longer about cheering on another member of the team.

Now, Minamo felt as if she was watching a close friend. She had of course considered themselves to be good friends already, especially after she'd shared some of the details of the most embarrassing moment of her life, but today seemed to officially highlight it.

The return trip to from the swim meet was just as pleasant as the ride out. Kagura had been excited about her performance for the day, as well as the team as a whole, and Minamo was more than happy listen to her, adding comments of her own here and there. Sadly, the trip seemed to be much shorter than before, and Minamo was slightly sad to see it coming to an end.

Fortunately for her, fate appeared to be on her side. Just as she was pulling up to the house, Kagura's phone beeped. Pulling out her phone, and flipping it open, Kagura read the incoming message. A second later, her nose wrinkled, and she groaned under her breath.

"Is everything ok?" Minamo asked.

"Yea it's fine. My mom got stuck at work and won't be home until super late. She just said there's left overs in the fridge for dinner." With a dejected sigh, she stared out the window towards her house.

Silence washed over the car. An image of Kagura sitting alone in a dark house, eating silently, came to Minamo's mind. It was a terrible sight. Just like last week, words came flying out on their own.

"Why don't you come over to my apartment, and I'll order us something for dinner."

Once again, Minamo inwardly cursed herself for not thinking before she spoke. This time, on the other hand, was different than the last. When she had offered to drive Kaguea to the meet, she had felt slightly out of place. Now she found that, had she given more thought to the idea, she'd likely have still offered for Kagura to join her for dinner.

Kagura turned around with a look of excited confusion. Her mouth opened, then closed again. It was obvious what her answer was, but she was clearly at a loss for words.

"Are you sure? I...don't wanna be a pain or anything," she finally said. .

Minamo could tell she didn't want to be intrusive or a burden, and had opted to take the polite route. "I insist," she said, putting the car back into drive, and starting towards her apartment, effectively silencing any doubts Kagura may have had.

"So what would you like for dinner?"

Kagura furrowed her brows in deep thought, tapping a finger on her bottom lip. "I'm cool with whatever you want. I'll eat anything," she finally said.

"How about pizza? There's a great place that delivers just down the street."

"Sounds great," Kagura replied enthusiastically.

After deciding what kind of pizza they wanted, Minamo pulled out her phone, and dialed the restaurant. She felt mildly embarrassed that she knew the number by heart. Cooking was never her strong suit, something the local delivery joints were undoubtedly pleased with. Thankfully, Kagura didn't seem to notice or care.

Shortly after the oder was placed, they pulled into the parking garage at Minamo's complex, and Kagura was quick to point out just how close Minamo's apartment was to her own home. "This is where you live? I jog right by this place all the time."

"Really?" Minamo asked, receiving an enthusiastic nod in reply. "Funny how small the world is sometimes."

With a quick elevator ride up to Minamo's floor, the two found themselves standing outside Minamo's apartment. As she unlocked the door, Minamo inwardly cringed. The last thing she had been expecting this evening was company, and she was now wishing she had straightened up before she left in the morning.

"You'll have to excuse the mess, but please, make yourself comfortable," Minamo said, as she entered through the door.

Following shortly behind, Kagura removed her shoes, set her backpack down, and took a look around at the small studio apartment. "What're you talkin' about. This place is spotless."

If there was one thing Minamo took pride in, it was the tidiness of her home. Everything had a place. The furniture wasn't to big or to small, and fit neatly in their spots. Clutter was virtually non existent. Still, Minamo noticed small things that were out of place. Several unwashed dishes sat in the sink, and she hadn't made her bed before she left in the morning. With a heavy sigh, she pushed her frustration to the side. _Why am I so nervous. Kagura clearly doesn't think I'm a slob._

For a moment, Kagura stood in the entry way, unsure of what to do or where to go, choosing to look around from where she was. For the first time ever, Minamo was witnessing a shy side to Kagura. It was a rare sight, and Minamo couldn't help but find it amusing.

"Can I get you something to drink?," Minamo asked, bringing Kagura back to the present.

"Oh, uh, yea sure. That'd be great," Kagura replied.

The two made their way into the kitchen, where Minamo opened up the small refrigerator, and pulled out a bottled water, handing it to Kagura.

"Thanks, coach."

Cracking open the top, Kagura took a large swig from the bottle, and slowly walked out into the living room. The small action of having a drink seemed to sooth Kagura's nerves a bit, and she stood by the glass door, gazing out over the city.

"This place has an awesome view," she said.

Minamo turned and looked to Kagura. The sun had just set, and the city lights were slowly turning on as the light faded. The sight of Kagura standing against the twilight background, brought a smile to Minamo's face. As much as she didn't want to admit it, it was a beautiful sight. A moment of peaceful quiet filled the room as the two of them looked out over the city. Kagura, standing by the sliding glass door, and Minamo looking out from the kitchen. Minamo couldn't help but let out a small sigh of content. The peace was broken when the doorbell rang, causing Minamo to flinch.

"That must be the pizza," she said, reluctantly pulling her eyes away from the view and heading towards the door. "Coming!"

A few minutes later, and Minamo made her way towards the floor table in the center of the room, pizza in hand. Setting it down, she went to the kitchen, pulled out some plates, and made her way back to the table. After taking a seat, she opened the box and motioned for Kagura take seat across from her. The girl quickly complied, plopping herself on floor, and stared at the pizza with hungry eyes.

"Help yourself," Minamo said with a smile.

"Thanks for the food, coach. This is way better than what I've got at home," Kagura said, taking a piece of pizza and wasting no time in eating it.

"Of course," Minamo replied happily. "I couldn't just let you eat cold leftovers all alone."

"I do it all the time," Kagura said nonchalant with a slight shrug.

That last line put a frown on Mimamo's face. The very same image that came up while they were in the car resurfaced. It was a sad sight, and she was about to voice her distaste of the matter, when Kagura excitedly pointed to the TV stand.

"No way! You've got the whole collection of Pixar movies. That's freakin' awesome."

Minamo laughed, her earlier concern disappearing as quickly as it had come. "They're such happy movies," she replied with a wide smile.

"Can we watch one?"

The question caught Minamo slightly off guard. For the first time that evening, Kagura had taken the initiative. It made her happy to see that Kagura was comfortable, and her earlier nervousness was being replaced by her normal outgoing self.

"Sure. Pick which ever one you want, and I'll move the table over."

With a wide smile, Kagura made her way to the TV stand, and started looking through the neatly organized DVD cases. Minamo, pulled the table closer to the couch, and grabbed the remote, switching the TV on. With a satisfied 'ah hah,' Kagura turned around, holding up a movie.

"Good choice," Minamo began, "One of my favorites."

With the DVD ready to go, Kagura took a seat next to Minamo, and put another slice of pizza on her plate. Minamo followed suit, and the two relaxed into the couch, as the movie began to play.

Within the first five minutes, Minamo was trying her hardest to fight back tears. The opening scene to the movie had always struck an emotional nerve. In an attempt to distract herself, she focused on eating. Instead, her attention was pulled to Kagura when she heard a sniffle from the girl. Looking over, she saw her stoically holding back tears as well. Unable to contain herself, Minamo burst out laughing.

Kagura reeled around. "H-Hey! Don't laugh at me. It's a really touching scene. The poor guy's wife totally dies, and they didn't even get to go on their special trip together!" she protested. It took her a moment to realize that Minamo was trying to hold back tears as well. Kagura immediately shoved an accusatory finger towards Minamo. "You're crying too!"

"I know. That's why it's so funny," Minamo said, now wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. The look on Kagura's face was too much to handle. It looked like she was trying to be serious, while at the same time trying not to cry and laugh. "Look at us. We're just a couple of saps."

Unable to hold back any longer, Kagura let loose and began laughing along with Minamo. For the rest of the movie, the duo continued to laugh hysterically. Scenes that weren't originally funny to one, would now become hilarious simply because the other would start laughing. Minamo couldn't remember the last time she had laughed so hard her face became sore. When the credits began to roll on screen, Minamo was genuinely sad that the movie was over.

Kagura stood up from the couch and stretched her arms over head. "Awe man, that was fun," she said with a wide smile.

"It certainly was," Minamo agreed.

After taking a look at the clock, Kagura let out a heavy sigh. "I guess I should get goin'. Gettin' kinda late."

"Alright, let me get my keys. I'll give you a ride home."

"No worries, coach," Kagura said with a dismissive hand. "I'm cool with jogging home."

"Kagura, it's late," Minamo began to protest, but Kagura cut her off.

"It's totally fine. I jog by here around this time all the time. Besides, sounds kinda good to stretch my legs a bit."

"Are you sure?"

"Yea, you've done enough for me tonight already. I insist," Kagura said.

As much as Minamo didn't like idea of Kagura going home by herself, she knew the neighborhood was decent enough, and if Kagura said she routinely jogs at this hour, than she figured she may as well let her have her way. She walked Kagura to the door, and watched as she put on her shoes, grabbed her backpack, and did a few quick stretches. Once in the door way, Kagura turned to Minamo with a wide smile.

"I had a blast. Thanks for havin' me over for dinner and a movie."

Minamo couldn't help but mirror Kagura's smile. "I had a great time too," she replied.

"Alright, have a good night. See ya at school." With a small wave, Kagura made her way down the hallway towards the elevator.

While watching Kagura's retreating form, Minamo was struck with an idea. After a only a second of consideration, she spoke up. "Kagura," she called out. When Kagura turned to face her, she continued on. "Next time you're stuck with cold leftovers, why don't you give me a call. You can come over for pizza and a movie again."

Even from the distance down the hall, Minamo could see Kagura's face light up. "Ok!" she shouted excitedly. "Thanks coach. You're the best."

After one final farewell, Minamo closed her door and stood in her entry way. With a heavy sigh, she ran her fingers through her hair. The apartment seemed so empty and alone. The sudden silence only served to make it worse. She didn't like it, and she instantly began to miss Kagura's presence. The thought of having her over again put a smile back on her face.

_I hope she decides to come back, _she thought.

XxXxXxX

"Awe c'mon Tomo! Quit playin' such a cheesy character," Kagura protested.

"Pfft, you're just pissed 'cause you're no match for my awesome breakdance fighting skills," Tomo replied mockingly.

"You're not using any skill! All you're doing is mashing the two kick buttons. It's freakin' lame." Kagura said. With a dejected sigh, she tossed her controller out in front of her, and stood up to stretch.

"Hey, don't hate the player, hate the game," Tomo began while waving a dismissive hand. "C'mon, one more round. Don't quit, that's the kinda stuff Yomi pulls." When she only received an angry glare in reply, she continued on with her pestering. "Maybe if you didn't pick a tiny school girl, and went with the badass space ninja, like Yomi does, you'd do a little better."

Kagura simply rolled her eyes. Grabbing her water bottle, she decided to take a quick drink, and ignore Tomo as she continued to point out just how bad Kagura was at fighting games. As much as playing games with Tomo was fun, getting told you suck, even when you win, starts to get old. And by now, Kagura had her fill. She needed to change the subject, but to what, she wasn't quite sure.

She turned her attention back to Tomo, who was now rambling on and on about how even Yomi was better at the game than Kagura was. A light bulb went off in Kagura's head. The entire night, Tomo had been talking about Yomi. It hadn't been all that obvious before, but looking back, it was a very popular subject.

For a while now, Kagura had been confused about the friendship that Tomo and Yomi shared. One minute they seemed to hate each other, constantly bickering and even getting into out right physical fights. Then, they'd be best of friends in no time flat. What really stumped Kagura, was why Yomi put up with even half of Tomo's crazy antics. There was something there that she couldn't quite put her finger on, and it had been driving her crazy since day one.

"Tomo, just shut up for a second," Kagura said, cutting Tomo off mid sentence.

"Wha- Hey, that's friggin rude," Tomo protested.

"Yea yea, whatever. I've been meaning to ask you this for a while now. What's the deal with you and Yomi?"

"We're best friends?" Tomo replied with a single raised eyebrow. She was clearly confused as to where the question had come from.

"Right, I get that. Then why do you always piss her off so much?"

"Have you even seen her rage face? It's just so friggin cute," Tomo said with starry eyes and a wide smile.

That last part had caught Kagura by surprise. Of all the answers she had been expecting, hearing Tomo call Yomi cute wasn't even on the list. _What the hell does she mean by... _For the second time that evening, Kagura had another lightbulb moment. The verbal abuse was one thing. Tomo did that with everyone. But the physical torment, that was something she only did with Yomi. She wasn't just being a jackass to her best friend, she was flirting, and as far as she could tell, Yomi was going along with it whole heartedly, despite putting up an angry an annoyed front.

"Hold on a sec," Kagura began, taking a moment to compose her thoughts. One big question came to mind, and she couldn't help but just flat out ask. "Are...you two, more than friends?"

"Not yet, but I'm workin' on it," Tomo said nonchalantly.

The brutal honesty caused Kagura's jaw to drop. Tomo was known for being blunt and speaking her mind, but this was out of nowhere. She had never even once heard Tomo ever mention something like this. That meant this was likely a pretty big secret. Up until now of course.

"Wait...so you have a crush or on Yomi or somethin'?" Kagura asked tentatively, still trying to wrap her head around what she had just heard. When Tomo gave her a wide smile and nodded vigorously in return, Kagura continued on. "And, have you told anyone else?"

"Nope."

"So, why tell me?"

Tomo shrugged, and scratched the back of her neck nervously. "I dunno. You just kinda seemed like a good person to tell I guess."

"Really?"

Kagura couldn't help but feel touched. That sheepish look that Tomo now had was something she had never seen before. This was clearly an embarrassing moment, and it made Kagura feel special that Tomo had chosen her to confide in.

That shy embarrassment went away as quickly as it came, and was once again replaced with Tomo's typical ear to ear grin. "Yea why not? I like girls, you like girls. We can totally relate."

"What!" Kagra shrieked.

The feeling of camaraderie and being special was instantly shattered. So many questions were now flooding Kagura's mind. Why did Tomo assume she liked girls? How long had she been under that impression? Is Tomo serious? Maybe this is some sort of practical joke? Pushing all those questions aside, she said the first thing that came to mind.

"I don't like girls like that," Kagura protested.

Even before the words had completely left her mouth, an image of Minamo popped into her head. All the past dreams about the woman came flooding back. It hit Kagura like a punch to the chest. She tried to shake the thoughts from her head, but they were only becoming more prevalent in the forefront of her mind. Thankfully Tomo provided a short distraction from the images of Minamo.

"You're a dirty liar," she accused.

"Am not."

"Are too. Now c'mon. Who do ya like. I told ya mine. You tell me yours."

"I already told you. I don't li-"

"It's Sakaki isn't it," Tomo said confidently, while completely ignoring Kagura's protests. "Better hope Kaorin doesn't find out. She'll cut your throat."

"I don't LIKE Sakaki," Kagura growled.

"Better not be Yomi, or I'll cut your throat."

"What? No!"

"Is it me? If Yomi finds out, I hope she try's to cut your throat."

"Damn it Tomo! Enough with the throat cutting crap. I don't like you like that. Now will you please just shut up about it?" Kagura pleaded.

"Is it Osaka? Pretty sure she's straight," Tomo continued on, ignoring Kagura's pleas.

"No! Now seriously, knock it of-"

"Dude, Chiyo is way to young. That's some twisted shi-"

"The girl I like isn't in our group!" Kagura practically screamed.

"Ah hah!" Tomo shoved a finger in Kagura's face, and began bouncing excitedly. "Who is it? Who is it?" she demanded.

Kagura brought her palm to her face and let out a sigh of defeat. Being verbally outmaneuvered by Tomo was embarrassing to say the least. On top of that, she had just admitted to something that she had never even truly admitted to herself. _So do I really like coach like THAT?_

She felt the sudden urge to go for a run and clear her head. All of these sudden and confusing emotions were causing her head to spin. Tomo wasn't helping at the moment either. The constant pestering was becoming increasingly annoying and only serving to make matters worse. Although the more she thought about it, she realized that this was going to be something she was going to have to get used to.

Whether she liked it or not, she now had a special bond with Tomo. They both shared a deep secret, and that feeling of being special began to come back. If Tomo felt that she could talk to her about this, then that meant the she trusted Kagura. At the very least, Kagura could return the favor. Still, the idea of trusting Tomo with something of this magnitude was unsettling.

Taking a deep breath, Kagura decided to appease Tomo. There was no way she was going to tell her it was Minamo, but she also couldn't get away without telling her at least a little something.

"She...she's on the swim team," she mumbled. It wasn't a lie. Technically Minamo was on the team. She just hoped that Tomo wouldn't push the issue to much.

"The swim team?" Tomo knit her brows in thought, likely trying to picture all the members of the team. A moment later, she grinned. "I can see where you're goin' with that. So, who is it?"

"Yea I'm not givin' you that one," Kagura said sternly. She honestly hoped, that for just once in her life, Tomo would be respectful of another person's feelings.

"Oh c'mon!"

"Nope."

"Pretty please?"

"Nope," Kagura said with as much finality as she could muster.

"Gah! Fine," Tomo relented. She then threw an arm around Kagura's neck and chuckled deviously. "I'll find out one day."

Kagura groaned, and shook her head. For now she had a small reprieve, and she wasn't going to argue. Still, the thought of Tomo finding out about the feelings she had for Minamo was unsettling to say the least.

In the end, she decided to stay at Tomo's house for just a little longer and play games. The idea of spacing out in front the TV was an appealing one, but it was no use. The fact that Tomo now had someone to relate to, meant that Kagura got an extensive earful of why Tomo had a crush on Yomi.

As much as Kagura wanted to tune it out, she found that she couldn't. The more Tomo went on about it, the more Kagura became intrigued by it. For the rest of the evening, all Kagura could think about was Minamo. Everything Tomo was saying, from how Yomi looked, to how they had fun together, and even more intimate ideas, Kagura found that she could easily relate all of that to Minamo.

When she finally left Tomo's house, she couldn't stop smiling. It was as if a sudden weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Even though she hadn't the slightest idea of what to do with this new revelation, she found that just the idea of being around Minamo was more than enough for now.

XxXxXxX

"Have a good night, coach!"

"You too."

Minamo slowly closed the door behind her, and walked back into her apartment. With a smile on her face, she meandered about, picking up the empty pizza box and soda cans. After throwing them away, she paused in her kitchen and looked out over the rest of small living space.

The apartment was once again quiet and empty. This had only been the third time Kagura had come over, and each time after she left, Minamo was surprised at just how lonely the place felt without her. Even though Yukari came by frequently enough, it felt different with Kagura.

They meshed so well together. Conversation was always easy, and never forced. They shared many of the same likes and dislikes, and most importantly, Minamo found that she just plain had fun with the girl. She felt more lively when she was around.

Her eyes fell to the couch, and her attention was drawn to a sweatshirt sitting on the end. "She must've forgotten it. I'll shoot her a quick text. It's only been a few minutes, she can't be that far away.'' Minamo pulled out her phone and was about to start typing a message, when there was a sudden knocking on the door.

Thinking it was Kagura coming back, Minamo grabbed the sweatshirt from the couch, made her way to the door, and quickly opened it.

"You forgot your sweatsh..." She trailed off mid-sentence.

Standing in the doorway, was Yukari. A large grin from ear to ear was plastered on her face. Minamo winced. She knew that grin, and she knew she was in for an earful.

"Oh? What did I forget now?" she asked. With a mirthful chuckle, she made her way into Minamo's apartment. "Oh! And you'll never guess who I just spotted runnin' outa here."

Minamo chose to remain silent. The pizza and movie deal had been a secret from Yukari. Minamo knew her friend would have a field day if she ever found out. Now, she had been caught red handed, and she mentally braced herself for the torment to come.

"So...what were you two up too?" Yukari asked in playful voice while waggling her eyebrows.

"Just pizza and a movie," Minamo said in a flat tone, crossing her arms over chest and placing her weight on her back foot. "It's not what you think it is."

Pointing to the sweatshirt under Minamo's arm, Yukari smiled deviously. "Must be a pretty intense movie if you're leavin' clothes behind."

"No it's not like-"

"Don't lie. You were totally shaggin' her weren't you!"

"No! Damn it Yukari. We're just friends."

"Uh huh, sure you are. Now how many times she been over? And why was she sportin' a big stupid love struck grin?"

Minamo didn't want to answer the first question, and the second one threw her for a loop. If Yukari found out that this had become a regular thing, it would only provide fuel for her fire. As to the second question, Minamo didn't quite know what to think about it.

"Well?" Yukari persisted, lightly poking Minamo in the shoulder.

"Only three times!" Minamo practically shouted, while swatting Yukari's hand away.

"Oh ho, third date, huh? So, what'd ya do? Kiss her? Feel her u- Ow! Shit, stop...hitting...me."

Yukari brought her hands up to fend off the blows that Minamo was now furiously delivering to her shoulder.

"What is wrong with you? How many times do I have to tell you, she's a student, she's too young, and we're just friends."

Finally managing to get away from Minamo, Yukari kept her hands up defensively. She wore a maniacal smile, and Minamo new that this was far from over.

"And I'm just gonna remind you again how perfect she is for you."

Minamo put a palm to her face and let out exasperated groan. That was last thing she needed to be reminded of. She hated it when Yukair was right. The last few evenings spent with Kagura had gone far better, and had been far more pleasant, than any date she had ever been on. Obviously they weren't dates, which was perhaps why it went so well, but still, it was highly likely that an actual date would go just as well, if not better. The thought caused a blush a spread its way across Minamo's cheeks. She instantly felt guilty for the thought, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop smiling.

"Yea I see that stupid smile of yours," Yukari said confidently. "Ya know I'm right."

The smug tone in Yukari's voice helped Minamo regain her composure. "Are you TRYING to get me fired?" she asked heatedly.

"Hell no, who'd drive me to work if you were gone?" Yukari put a hand up to silence Minamo's rebuttal. "All I'm sayin' is that you should look into it. Past few weeks you've been way happier than normal. Now I get why."

All Minamo could do was regard Yukari with a skeptical look. _Have I really been that happy?_ It was hard to believe, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized that, in fact, she had been in much more lively mood. One more thought forced its way to the forefront of Minamo's mind. What surprised her most, was just how sad the thought made her.

"I highly doubt she'd ever see me that way," Minamo said dejectedly.

"Man, you're friggin blind," Yukari grumbled while shaking her head.

XxXxXxX

Kagura burst through her front door completely winded. Her lungs burned, and she gasped for air. The simple act of removing shoes was far more difficult than it should have been. It felt like fire had consumed her thighs and calfs. From Minamo's apartment, she had sprinted the entire way as fast as she could.

The entire evening had been one embarrassing thought after another. Every time she looked at Minamo, she thought of what it would be like to kiss the woman. Throughout the whole movie, all she wanted to do was be as close to Minamo as possible. The idea of having Minamo's arm wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her in close had been a constant hope. Deep down Kagura knew she was a fool to think that anything like that would happen, but that did nothing to subdue her current frustration.

The final moment which had sent Kagura's frustration overboard was right before the movie had come to an end. Across from where they were sitting was Minamo's bed. The moment Kagura laid eyes on it, a reenactment of her last dream with Minamo came to mind. All she could think about was what it would be like to share that very bed with Minamo; to be intertwined within a sea of blankets, skin to skin, lips to lips.

It had been to much to handle. She had hoped that an intense run would help purge the thoughts from her head like it had in the past. This time, it was no use. The visions were too intense to shake. With a groan of frustration Kagura ran her fingers through her hair.

Making her way towards her room, she grabbed a towel from the linen closet along the way. Sweat was now drenching her clothes. Running nearly a mile at full speed had certainly taken its toll. Once in her room, Kagura peeled off her clothes, tossed them in the hamper, and slowly ambled to the shower.

Cranking the heat up, Kagura hoped that maybe a hot shower would help. If anything, it would at least help sooth aching muscles. For a while, she just stood there, letting the water cascade down her neck and back. Tense muscles eased under the spray. The room filled with steam, furthering the feeling of warmth and relaxation.

As she moved her hands over her body, she closed her eyes. From there, her imagination took over. The hands which now gently roamed her body no longer belonged to Kagura. A small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. One hand slid from her stomach up to her chest. The other hand traveled slowly downward. Leaning against the shower wall, a sigh of content escaped her lips. For the first time, all of Kagura's tension began to wash away.


End file.
